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History

From the powerful civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley, to the fearsome yet sophisticated society of the Vikings, the ancient world was a surprising and challenging place. Here we feature some of the most seminal and influential events and people throughout history, that have helped shape the world we know today.

An image of the goddess Meenakshi.
13 August, 2017 - 23:03 dhwty

Meenakshi: The Warrior Goddess Who Could Not Be Defeated by Any Man …Until She Met Shiva

Meenakshi is a goddess in the Hindu pantheon who is worshipped mainly in the southern part of India. This goddess is believed to be an avatar of the goddess Parvati, the wife of Shiva. The most...
A Chontal Maya sea craft.
12 August, 2017 - 22:52 Clyde Winters

Forgotten Voyagers: The Ancient Mexican Merchants Who Took to the Seas

“They were all young, well built and not black but fairer than the other natives I have seen in the Indies. They were handsome with fine limbs and bodies, and long straight hair cut in the Spanish...
‘Abraham and the Angels’ by Aert de Gelder
12 August, 2017 - 19:03 Nils Ekblad

Is There a Natural Explanation For The Unnatural Ages in Genesis?

Is there any significance to the puzzling ages of the antediluvian patriarchs in the fifth chapter of Genesis? And why do these numbers differ between the Masoretic text and the Septuagint? These...
The Lost Knowledge of the Ancients: Were Humans the First? Part 4
11 August, 2017 - 19:04 Sam Bostrom

The Lost Knowledge of the Ancients: Were Humans the First?

Archaeologists and historians have produced a number of curious finds which still await a logical explanation. The story of man will appear in a different light if the answers are ever found. If the...
Detail of portrait from 1807 showing a young man in ‘sunglasses.’
11 August, 2017 - 13:58 Riley Winters

Sunglasses: A History of Protective, Stylish, and Popular Eyewear

I never leave my house without a pair of sunglasses. Usually, there are also pairs in my purse, in my car, and in a coat that I keep in the trunk. In fact, I am both proud and ashamed to admit that I...
KV62 wall, tomb. Design by Anand Balaji
10 August, 2017 - 15:22 anand balaji

Final Pieces of the Jigsaw: Are Khufu, Nefertiti & Ankhesenamun Set to Yield Their Secrets?

Over the past two years, the world of Egyptology has been a hotbed of excitement. The thrill-a-minute roller-coaster ride of announcements from the Land of the Pharaohs became the focal point right...
‘La Doncella’ (the Maiden), one of the mummified ‘Children of Llullaillaco’ in Salta province, Argentina.
10 August, 2017 - 01:59 aprilholloway

Analysis Shows Children were Given Drugs and Alcohol before Ritual Sacrifice 500 Years Ago

The remarkably preserved mummified remains of three children were found on the summit of Volcan Llullaillaco in Argentina over a decade ago. The ‘Maiden’ was 13 years old when she met her demise and...
It’s Driving Them Out of Their Minds: The First Big Poisoning in Ancient Rome
9 August, 2017 - 18:45 Carly Silver

It’s Driving Them Out of Their Minds: The First Big Poisoning in Ancient Rome

There were quite a few methods of offing rivals available to criminals in ancient Rome, but poisoning became a popular one by the early imperial period. Perhaps the first widespread ring wreaking...
Images from the manuscript ‘Seventy-Two Specimens of Castes in India.
5 August, 2017 - 19:00 aprilholloway

The Controversial Indian Caste System Has Been Dividing India for 2000 Years

A study of genetic populations in India suggests the Indian caste system, a traditional method of social organization into a hierarchy of hereditary groups, has been prevalent in the South Asian...
Edited image from the Tokyo National Museum of the actor Nakazō Nakamura playing Goemon Ishikawa (or, in Japanese style, Ishikawa Goemon), a legendary ninja
4 August, 2017 - 01:50 dhwty

Ninja Warrior Ishikawa Goemon: Charitable Hero or Violent Outlaw?

Ishikawa Goemon was a legendary Japanese outlaw and folk hero who lived during the 16th century. This outlaw has sometimes been compared to Robin Hood, as he stole from the rich to give to the poor...
Roman tax collector calculating someone's taxes on an abacus
2 August, 2017 - 19:00 Theodoros Karasavvas

Can You Imagine a Taxation System Where the Wealthy Competed to Pay the Highest Taxes? It Really Happened!

Can you imagine a progressive tax system that motivates the wealthiest members of society to voluntarily pay large amounts of tax instead of implementing tax avoidance schemes, as is currently the...
Monument of the pilgrims, Burgos
2 August, 2017 - 15:35 Elyn and Gary

Following Symbols and the Bones of a Dead Sorcerer: Mysteries of the Camino de Santiago – Part II

The popular 500-mile-long pilgrimage road, the Camino de Santiago (specifically the French Way that leads from the French Pyrenees across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela) seems like a...
Santiago el Mayor’ Saint James the Great (Public Domain), and sign on the Camino de Santiago (Manuel/ CC BY 2.0);Deriv.
31 July, 2017 - 15:31 Elyn and Gary

Pilgrims Flock on an Ancient Road to the Ends of the Earth: Mysteries of the Camino de Santiago – Part I

The Spanish poet, Antonio Machado wrote, “Caminante, no hay camino; se hace el camino por andar.” (Walker/Seeker, there is no path; the path is made by walking.) Rarely has this been truer than with...
Medieval medical text
31 July, 2017 - 01:43 Theodoros Karasavvas

Medieval Men With ‘Unsuitable Seed’ Prescribed Ground Up Pig Testicals

A recent study of medical and religious texts suggests that men were diagnosed with infertility as far back as Medieval times, and indeed may be held responsible for the inability to have children...
King Edward III implores the forgiveness of God while facing the storm of 1360 with his army in the fields of Sours
30 July, 2017 - 23:10 aprilholloway

Black Monday: The Deadly 14th Century Hailstorm That Killed Over 1000 Soldiers and 6000 Horses

On Easter Monday, 13 th April 1360, a freak hail storm broke over English troops as they were preparing for battle with the French during the Hundred Years’ War. So brutal was the storm that over 1,...
Sticker showing baby Krishna stealing milk from a cow.
30 July, 2017 - 02:02 ancient-origins

Modern Hindus Forbidden From Eating Beef But Ancient Hindus Ate the Sacred Cow

Wendy Doniger / The Conversation Just this past June, at a national meeting of various Hindu organizations in India, a popular preacher, Sadhvi Saraswati, suggested that those who consumed beef...
Detail of the famous Minoan bull leaping fresco.
29 July, 2017 - 13:51 Riley Winters

Taking the Bull by the Horns: The Perilous Minoan Practice of Bull-Leaping

If bull-leaping was a genuine practice in Bronze Age Minoan courts (estimated c.3200 BC-1100 BC), it was likely not nearly as fun as it appears in frescoes. Modern day professional matadors have...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji
28 July, 2017 - 15:24 anand balaji

In the Shadow of Nakhtmin: The Unfortunate Crown Prince of Egypt

No other period in ancient Egyptian history had its share—almost a surfeit—of enigmatic and poorly understood characters as the Amarna era. Mysterious kings and queens apart, Nakhtmin, a...
his head of indurated limestone is a fragment from a group statue that represented Amun seated on a throne, and Tutankhamun standing or kneeling in front of him. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
27 July, 2017 - 01:50 anand balaji

The Hunt for Ankhesenamun: A Murderess, Vixen or Helpless Child in this Ancient Egyptian Soap Opera? Part II

Ankhesenamun, wife of the boy-king Tutankhamun , is portrayed in many ways; as a terrified and hapless youngster; a power-hungry murderess; or a loathsome vixen who will stop at nothing to achieve...
A painted relief of Ankhesenamun; design by Anand Balaji
26 July, 2017 - 19:05 anand balaji

The Hunt for Ankhesenamun: How Did a Young Woman Stop an Ancient Dynasty from Imploding? Part I

The names of Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Tutankhamun —prominent players from the Eighteenth Dynasty of the New Kingdom period in ancient Egypt—have been in the spotlight for well over a century...
Museum diorama depicting scholars from the Joseon Dynasty (Public Domain), and script from the Hunmin Jeongeum Eonhae
24 July, 2017 - 15:37 MartiniF

What Happens if Scholars Rule a Kingdom? How Korea’s Kingdom of Joseon Lived Up to its Legendary Namesake

By the 14th century, the foundations of Korea’s Goryeo Dynasty (918 -1392 CE) started to collapse from years of war and de facto occupation from the Mongol Empire. The royal court in Goryeo was at...
A red devil.
23 July, 2017 - 01:51 aprilholloway

Supreme Court Judge: Of Course I Believe in the Devil! ...Do You?

For Christians, the Devil is God’s opponent. He tricked Adam and Eve to eat the Forbidden Fruit, causing humanity to lose its place in the Garden of Eden. In Christianity, this being is the cause of...
Mosaic, shown Gargoyles in form of Theatrical masks of Tragedy and Comedy. Roman artwork, 2nd century AD.
22 July, 2017 - 01:54 Riley Winters

Masks, Sex, Laughter, and Tears: The Exciting Evolution of Ancient Greek Theater

The city of theater was Athens. Athens birthed drama, bred drama, and ultimately was responsible for cultivating it into the premiere art of the Classical world—at least according to Greek...
Sultan Mahmud II (Public Domain), and ornament from a Janissary's Cap, 17th century Turkey
21 July, 2017 - 14:58 Cam Rea

Ultimatum from the Sultan to the Powerful Janissary Military - Change… Or Die! Guess what they Chose? The Auspicious Event—Part II

A force of disciplined, elite royal guards of the 15th and 16th century Ottoman Empire grew in size by seizing Christian children and raising them as civil servants and dangerous soldiers. The...

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